Nature meets mass culture in Bryson Lee’s technicolour illustrations

“Drawing has always been a natural interest to me,” the Brooklyn-based illustrator and designer Bryson Lee tells It’s Nice That. “One of my earliest memories was in my hometown, Las Vegas, I had this magnetic doodle board that I loved so much that I eventually broke it from overuse.” Bryson went on to study graphic design at Rhode Island School of Design, before going on to make a successful career from it, but this was never quite the plan; originally, he had hopes of studying illustration. “Switching to graphic design was sort of a last-minute decision that challenged me to rethink my creative process,” he says. “Learning a new discipline while holding onto a familiar one ended up becoming a cornerstone of my practice.” Later, Bryson went to to apply his distinctive approach at Bloomberg and Mold Magazine, alongside a full-time role at Mythology. 

What sets Bryson apart, however, is how his design practice bleeds into an illustrative one. “There is a narrative aspect with illustration that gives me the freedom to tap into emotion and expressive characters,” Bryson says. “Weirdly enough, these natural instincts really help add emotional depth to a design project.” Bryson considers design to be more limiting – but not necessarily in a negative way. “When something is more structured, it really encourages me to make decisions more purposefully,” Bryson details. “This is definitely a lesson that’s carried over into my illustration practice.”

Bryson’s colourful and characterful illustrations depict scenes of dolls, sunscapes, stones, animals and oddities – all nestled with an internet-meets-Groovy-Chick vibe. “I feel like I tap into two different ends of the spectrum when looking for inspiration.” Bryson’s inspired by things that shaped his childhood, like his parent’s Korean stationery, as well as franchises like Digimon, Monster High and Sanrio. “These worlds captivated me with their history, intricate lore, and the depth behind the characters and their universes.” Now, Bryson infuses this in his work in the “nature, fashion doll hybrids” he creates, which forge a compelling tension between the natural world and mass culture.